Home Office

Immigrants: Caribbean

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many inquiries about issues relating to the immigration status of members of the Windrush generation have been received by her Department (a) on the Windrush helpline and (b) from people in Wales in 2018.

Caroline Nokes: On 16 April, The Home Office established a Taskforce to ensure that members of the Windrush generation were able to evidence their right to be in the UK.Individuals considered as possible Windrush are referred for a call back from an experienced caseworker. To the end of August, 6,564 individuals have been referred for a call back.Callers are not required to provide a correspondence address when calling the helpline and information relating to the geographic location of callers is not available.

Immigration

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been wrongfully (a) detained, (b) deported, (c) denied British citizenship and (d) denied a passport on application in each of the last six years.

Caroline Nokes: Information on the number of people wrongfully deported and detained is set out in Sir Philip Rutnam’s letters to the Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, dated 14 May 2018 and 25 June 2018 that are deposited in the House Library.Information on individuals wrongfully denied a passport and British citizenship in the last 6 years is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Immigration: Windrush Generation

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 10 May 2018 to Question 136120 on UK Visas and Immigration: Management, how many individuals are assigned to the dedicated taskforce; how many of the 50 senior caseworkers will be in new positions; and what the timeframe is for the conclusion of his Department's review.

Caroline Nokes: The dedicated Taskforce consists of approximately 150 staff can be flexibly deployed as the need arises.Of the network of 50 senior caseworkers, 22 are new positions within the Chief Casework Unit. The remainder of the unit is made up of existing senior caseworkers embedded within business areas, to support colleagues in making complex case decisions.The terms of reference and methodology for the lessons learned review were published on 19 July. The terms, which have been approved by the review’s independent adviser Wendy Williams, also state that the intention is for the report to be published by 31 March 2019.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Research: EU Grants and Loans

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether the framework for the future relationship with the European Union within the Withdrawal Agreement is planned to include details on the future association to the Ninth EU Framework Programme.

Chris Heaton-Harris: As talks progress on the future relationship, we are working hard and at pace to deliver the best possible agreement on the future framework, which will be to the mutual benefit of both the UK and the EU. The Government’s recent White Paper set out its ambition to agree a far-reaching science and innovation accord as part of our future relationship with the EU. This includes exploring association in research and innovation programmes, including Horizon Europe.The UK and the EU have been clear that the Withdrawal Agreement and the Future Framework form a package, and that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed - meaning that neither document can be considered final until this is true of both. With talks ongoing, we remain firmly on track to reach agreement on the Withdrawal Agreement and the Future Framework in the autumn.

Innovation and Science

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to the document, Framework for the UK-EU Partnership: Science, research and innovation, published in May 2018, what progress (a) he and (b) officials of his Department have made on a Science and Innovation Pact with the EU.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Both the UK and the EU have been clear about the benefits of international collaboration on science and innovation and it is our intention to continue this cooperation with the EU. The government’s ambition for this is reflected in the document published in May 2018, which was presented to our EU counterparts during a technical session. The document can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/710268/SCIENCE_-_FINAL.pdf.The White Paper sets out proposals for a cooperative accord on science and innovation, which will provide for UK participation in EU research funding programmes, enable continued cooperation through joint participation in networks, infrastructure, policies and agencies which are to the UK’s and the EU’s joint benefit, and establish channels for regular dialogue between regulators, researchers and experts. We are working at pace to conclude this agreement.